Most Discussed

Hands-on: Apple TV iOS 5 update with NHL, WSJ, more

updated 03:25 pm EDT, Wed October 12, 2011

by MacNN Staff

We check the new Apple TV update

Apple was expected to post an Apple TV update along with iOS 5 on Tuesday, but most expected a dry update to bring it in line with iOS 5 features like AirPlay mirroring. Instead, it received a significant content update with NHL games, WSJ Live, and a much overdue rework of its movie trailer section. We'll give a quick tour of what's new in a hands-on.

What most users might like the most is just the redesign of the trailers section. To put it mildly, the original (largely unchanged since it arrived) was a mess: it dumped virtually all recent movie trailers in a single section, which made it a pain just to find a particular title and often difficult to even know what's genuinely new in theaters.

The new version is, simply put, fixed. Trailers are now broken off into recently added trailers, those just for upcoming movies, and for top movies on Rotten Tomatoes. It's also now possible to drill down into specific genres to find a given trailer. Apple still has an odd insistence on alphabetical order over date, but at least now you don't need to wade through three pages of trailers to find the one for the movie opening next week.

The NHL app, not surprisingly, is NHL Gamecenter and has the features you'd expect from the service. In many ways, it's very similar to the MLB.tv feature added earlier. Viewers can watch a live game if it's on and get a schedule to track new ones; it's possible to watch on-demand highlights from recent games. Scores, standings, and individual team profiles will again be familiar.

Video quality is HD and looks good for on-demand. We couldn't try live games, but NHL Gamecenter isn't cheap: depending on your country, it can cost $169 for a season pass or $20 per month.

What could ironically get the most use for some is the most niche: WSJ Live. Its contents aren't a mystery, but it makes a point of emphasizing the (also HD) live video and upcoming schedule. If you regularly want to check up on business after a day at work, it's a simple but fairly quick way to catch up without sharing from an iPad or iPhone app.

Of all the features, we only have light experience with the AirPlay and Photo Stream elements Apple has been alluding to all along. While we're waiting for devices to update and iCloud to sync, we can say Photo Stream might be a clue as to the Apple TV's future direction. It has a slightly more polished, more parallel interface for browsing photos.

From first glance, it's clear Apple is starting to see the Apple TV even more as a cloud device than it has in the past. Between three major sports leagues, the WSJ, Vimeo, and YouTube, there are now several choices for what to watch that aren't either from the iTunes Store or from Netflix. We can imagine some ardent sports fans or regular web video viewers now wanting to pick up an Apple TV, especially as AirPlay Mirroring now means you might have the option of 'cheating' by playing certain video services through an iOS device that don't have an Apple TV equivalent.

TAGS

TOTAL_COMMENTS Comments

I just bought a Roku 2 and it can many things that the Apple TV cannot do. My question is WHY can't Apple TV provide access to all the channels I can get on my Roku 2? It really stinks that I have owned this Apple TV for a year and I still cannot access all the channels that the Roku 2 can do. Hurry up Apple. I shouldn't need to use two devices.

Login Here

Now AAPL Stock: 113.6 ( + 1.48 )

Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

Share

Developer162d

Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

Share

162d

Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

Share

Industry162d

Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

Share

Troubleshooting162d

SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

Share

Upgrades/storage163d

Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

Share

Investor164d

Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE